He set up five teams, each headed by an archeologist who would direct the work, and to each team he gave an area. He had had the Vivero map from the mirror redrawn and used it as a rough guide. Then he turned to me. 'You will be an exception, Jemmy,' he said. 'I know we aren't going for detailed exploration at this time, but I think the cenote might provide some interesting finds. The cenote is yours.' He grinned. 'I think you're very lucky to be able to splash about in cool water all day while the rest of us sweat in the heat.'
I thought it was a good idea, too, and winked at Katherine. Halstead caught that and favoured me with a stony glare.
Then he turned to Fallon, and said, 'Dredging would be quicker -- as Thompson did at Chichen Itza.'
'That was a long time ago,' said Fallon mildly. 'Dredging tends to destroy pottery. It would be a pity not to use the advanced diving techniques that have been developed since Thompson's day.'
This was so true archeologically that Halstead could not object further without looking a damned fool, and he said no more; but he spoke in a low tone to Katherine and shook his head violently several times, I had a good idea what he was telling her but I didn't interrupt -- I'd find out soon enough.
The discussion continued for another half hour and then the meeting broke up. I went along with Rudetsky who was going to show me where the diving gear was and he led me to a hut that had been erected right on the edge of the cenote. 'I thought you'd like to be on the spot,' he said.
Half of the hut was to be my living quarters and contained a bed with mosquito netting, a table and chair and a small desk. The other half of the hut was filled with gear. I looked at it and scratched my head. 'I'd like to get that air compressor out of here,' I said. 'And all the big bottles. Can you build a shack by the side of the hut?'
'Sure: that's no trouble at all. I'll have it fixed by tomorrow.'
We went outside and I looked at the cenote. It was roughly circular and over a hundred feet in diameter. Behind it, the ridge rose sharply in almost a cliff, but easing off in steepness towards the top where Vivero had placed the Chac temple. I wondered how deep it was. 'I'd like a raft,' I said. 'From that we can drop a shot line and anchor it to the bottom -- if we can get down that far. But that can wait until I've done a preliminary dive.'
'You just tell me what you want and I'll fix it,' said Rudetsky. That's what I'm here for -- I'm Mr. Fixit in person.'
He went away and I tossed a pebble into the dark pool. It plopped in the middle of the still water and sent out a widening circle of ripples which lapped briefly at the edge, thirty feet below. If what I had been told was correct, many people had been sacrificed in this cenote and I wondered what I'd find at the bottom.
I went back to the hut and found Katherine waiting for me. She was looking dubiously at the pile of equipment and seemed appalled at the size of it. 'It's not as bad as that,' I said. 'Well soon get it sorted out. Are you ready to go to work?'
She nodded. 'I'm ready.'
'All the air bottles are full,' I said. 'I saw to that at Camp One. There's no reason why we shouldn't do a dive right now and leave the sorting until later. I wouldn't mind a dip -- it's too bloody hot here.'
She unbuttoned the front of her shirt. 'All right. How deep do you think it is?'
'I wouldn't know -- that's what we're going to find out. What's the deepest you've ever gone?'
'About sixty-five feet.'
This might be deeper,' I said. 'When we find out how deep I'll make out a decompression table. You stick to it and you'll be all right.' I jerked my thumb at the recompression chamber. 'I don't want to use that unless I have to.'
I tested it. Rudetsky's electricians had wired it up to the camp supply and it worked all right. I pumped it up to the test pressure of ten atmospheres and the needle held steady. It was highly unlikely that we'd ever have to use it at more than five atmospheres though.
When one is making a dive into an unknown hole in the ground you find you need an, awful amount of ancillary equipment. There was the scuba gear itself -- the harness, mask and flippers; a waterproof watch and compass on the left wrist -- I bad an idea it would be dark down there and the compass would serve for orientation: and a depth meter and a decompression meter on the right wrist. A knife went in the belt and a light mounted on the head -- by the time we were through kitting ourselves out we looked like a couple of astronauts.
I checked Katherine's gear and she checked mine, then we clumped heavily down the steps Rudetsky had cut in the sheer side of the cenote and down to the water's edge. As I dipped my mask into the water, I said, 'Just follow me, and keep your light on all the time. If you get into trouble and you can't attract my attention make for the surface, but try to stay a few minutes at the ten-foot level if you can. But don't worry -- I'll be keeping an eye on you.'
'I'm not worried,' she said. 'I've done this before.'
'Not in these conditions,' I said. 'This isn't like swimming in the Bahamas. Just play it safe, will you?'
'I'll stick close,' she said.
I gave the mask a final swish in the water 'Paul didn't seem too happy about this. Why did he want to dredge?'
She sighed in exasperation. Tie still has the same stupid idea about you and me. It's ridiculous, of course.'
'Or course,' I said flatly.
She laughed unexpectedly and indicated the bulky gear we were wearing. 'Not much chance, is there?'
I grinned at the idea of underwater adultery as I put on the mask. 'Let's call on Chac,' I said, and bit on the mouthpiece. We slipped into the water and swam slowly to the middle of the cenote. The water was clear but its depth made it dark. I dipped my head under and stared below and could see nothing, so I surfaced again and asked Katherine, by sign, if she was all right. She signalled that she was, so I signed that she was to go down. She dipped below the surface and vanished and I followed her, and just before I went down I saw Halstead standing on the edge of the cenote staring at me. I could have been wrong, though, because my mask was smeared with water -- but I don't think I was.
